Chapter 40

"A very unhappy married woman you mean? A married woman who's treated like a child in her own husband's house?" He quirked a brow at her, his face awfully close to hers that she had to draw her head backward away from his, bending her body in an uncomfortable position that was bound to hurt her waist soon. "You know... your husband even told me that he had you circumcised before he married you. Seems he doesn't trust you enough to stay faithful whenever he travels away on business." He said with mockery in his voice.

"And what has that got to do with the so-called deliverance you asked me to come here for?" Oluchi gritted. "Have you called me here to mock me?!"

"No, I've not..." He said huskily, as he let his eyes slowly descend towards her chest. "Oluchi, I know that you don't enjoy sex with your husband. He told me that he made you pretend to enjoy it. I feel sorry for you giving all those fake moans just to make him feel like a man." 

"And why would my husband be discussing our sex life with you?!" Oluchi was livid now. She couldn't believe that her husband had divulged very personal things to the priest.

"Oh, he has so much respect for me that he tells me almost everything that he's worried about and you are no exception." He smugly replied.

"I think I should take my leave now. I can see that you didn't disappoint after all, you only brought up this deliverance thing so that you can add me to the list of married women you'll be sleeping with!" She angrily said.

"If anything, you should count yourself lucky that I find you worthy, Oluchi. Do you know how many uncircumcised women are dying to go to bed with Reverend fathers like me?" He emphasized the word ‘uncircumcised’.

"I don't care! I am not one of those women!" She shot. Her waist was beginning to ache from bending backward. "I'm a faithful woman and the last thing I'd do is cheat on my husband, especially with you who has no respect for your vows or for God!"

"How about we leave God out of this for now? Do you know that despite the fact that you feel nothing during sex, I could work wonders on your body with my tongue? I'm sure that your husband doesn't even go down on you...poor thing…” Father Thomas said sultrily, making a nasty sound in his mouth and lecherously licking his lower lip.

"I don't know what going down on me means but I want no part of it!" She vehemently stated.

"You never can be too sure until you try, dear beautiful Oluchi!" Father Thomas said. "Let me show you what pleasures my tongue can awaken even in the uncircumcised...let me introduce your body to what you have never experienced before!" Before Oluchi could blink, Father Thomas suddenly grabbed her buttocks and pulled her hard against his body, grinding his erection against her pelvic while he craned his neck, forcefully trying to kiss her. 

Shocked and appalled at the same time and also being caught unawares, Oluchi began to struggle with the priest, pushing his head away from hers with her forearms, but when the priest continued to press his erection against her, while he aggressively squeezed her buttocks, pulling her ass cheeks apart through her long flair flowery skirt, she struggled even more with him, got a good aim and slapped him hard on the face, but that only seemed to fuel the priest's lust. He began to gather and pull her skirt upward, trying to get at her flesh but she seized his left ear in her mouth and bit down on it. 

Screaming in pain, the priest quickly released her, taking his hand to his ear and Oluchi quickly dashed for the door, unlocked it and fled down the stairs. She rushed into the church, grabbed her son's hand without saying a word, then she hurried away with him as quickly as she could from the church's premises. 

                                                                               ★★★

As Ewatomi walked past a farm with some firewood on her head, two men who were cutting down the bush in a farm paused their work and straightened up to watch her walk by. Both men were married and were in their mid-thirties, though being poor had taken its toll on them.

"Is that not Babatunde's daughter?" The first farmer, Dapo, asked in curiosity.

"She's the very one." The second farmer, Olatunji, answered. "Who else goes about the village in a white wrapper and barefooted too?"

"See how beautiful she is. Imagine how very beautiful she'll become when she becomes a woman? I must say that there's no one else with such beauty in all four villages around." Dapo said.

"It's only Kikelomo, the princess that would have competed with her in beauty but unfortunately, royalty doesn't buy beauty." Said Olatunji.

"But how come this little girl goes into the bush to fetch firewood all by herself at this age? Isn't she scared of wild animals? How old is she again?" Dapo asked.

"She's just six years old." Answered Olatunji. "That girl does a lot of things only grown-ups are supposed to do. As a matter of fact, she's a Daredevil! From what I've seen and heard, I strongly believe that she's not one of us! She's not!" Stated Olatunji.

"Did you notice that ever since that girl was born, Babatunde has suddenly become so rich? Now, he owns the biggest pig farm in the four villages, not to mention that he also owns the first textile factory ever and is patronized by kings and people of noble birth."

"Oh well, he's indeed a lucky man and I envy him. He's rather lucky that this girl came into his life when she did... I also heard that she gives him gold...that was how he was able to start the pig farm and textile business."

"Gold!" Dapo suddenly exclaimed, his eyes widening in greed. "You mean that that little girl who just walked past here also gives gold?!" He couldn't believe his ears.

"Of course, she does!" Olatunji stated. "In fact..." He drew closer to his companion now and said in a quiet voice. "I even heard that she's bound to bless any man who's lucky enough to marry her. I heard that she is capable of making that man richer than all the kings of four villages combined."

"My ancestors!" Dapo exclaimed, placing his fingers over his open mouth. "It also means that any man who is lucky to take her virginity will be blessed beyond measure!"

"Yes, but you know, that can only be her husband, which by the way will be a very very lucky man...I hope my son will be of age by then..." Olatunji said, shaking his cutlass by his side for emphasis. "Not only would he have the most beautiful girl all to himself, he'll also have a woman who can grant him all his heart desires."

"I see..." Dapo said thoughtfully now, staring blankly into the distance. "But come to think of it, Tunji..." He suddenly said when an idea struck him. Pulling very close to his companion now, he whispered after throwing a wary glance around to make sure that they were alone. "If we decide to wait till this girl is ripe for marriage, we might end up losing. What if she doesn't accept to marry any of us?"

Olatunji gave Dapo a confused look now. "And who said anything about marrying her? Did I tell you that I want a second wife?"

"Even if you do not want a second wife, don't you want to get rich?" Dapo asked.

"And how am I supposed to do that? Command the little girl to give me some gold? Can't you see that she's even unapproachable? She doesn't smile nor talk to anyone outside her family, besides Oyediran. She simply walks past people as if they are invisible."

"Listen, we don't have to tell her anything...all we have to do is take our own share by force? Who has the time to wait till she's ripe for marriage... that's almost twelve years jare!" Dapo complained.

Olatunji suspiciously narrowed his eyes at his friend now. "And what are you insinuating? Do you want us to kidnap her?"

Dapo glanced around the farm again then leaned in and whispered in Olatunji's ear. Olatunji suddenly gasped and flinched, turning to stare at his friend in shock. "Dapo, have you gone mad?! Have you forgotten that that girl is just a child?!"

"Ehen? Igba ye nko? And so?" He gave an indifferent shrug. "We will just do it quietly and no one has to know. What matters is that we get stinkingly rich!" Dapo said.

Olatunji shot a scornful look at Dapo now and said as he tapped a finger against the side of his head in a gesture. "I can see that you are crazy! You seem to have forgotten what she did to her mother's sister! Listen, count me out, Dapo!" He clapped his hands downwards after tucking his cutlass under his arm. "I'm not that desperate for riches! In fact, I wonder how I became friends with someone who thinks such evil thoughts like you! You should be ashamed of yourself! Agbaya oshi! (An insult for an adult who doesn’t act his or her age.)" He gave a long hiss, turned, walked to the spot he had been working on and took his hoe.

Dapo watched his friend in surprise. "What are you doing? Where are you going to?" He asked.

"I've lost the zeal to continue working with you. I'm going home!" Olatunji answered, placed his hoe on his shoulder, shot Dapo a last look of disdain then walked away from the farm.

"Ehn go! Go!" Dapo angrily yelled after him. "Just know that when I finally do it and get rich, I won’t give you a dime! In fact, in order to flaunt my wealth in your face, I'll buy all your farmlands and burn them to the ground! Just go! Your type is always comfortable in poverty even when a jackpot is staring at you right in the face!" Hissing, he bent down and continued to work while he plotted what he was going to do to Ewatomi in his head.